Fall For You
by Waterlilies
Summary: AU. She stared at the city skyline until she heard footsteps come from behind her. "What's wrong?" He whispered into her ear, "Another nightmare?" Pairings: Natasha x Clint, Peggy x Steve, and Jane x Thor. Other characters: Bucky Barnes, Sharon Carter, Loki, and special guest appearances. Sequel to "From Where You Are." Part movie and part canon.
1. Chapter 1

**Here it is! The sequel to "From Where You Are." And yes, it is going to be AU. If you are new to this storyline, I would suggest reading the previous fic to catch up. Otherwise, it can be read as a stand-alone fic as well.**

**Disclaimer: I do not owe any of the characters mentioned here. They all belong to Marvel.**

…

He leaned against his chair and watched innocently at the crowds. Who was tracking who was the better question he mused with a smirk that appeared on the corner of his lower lip. To the mewling quims, they weren't expecting anything to happen on this ordinary Sunday. The square was packed with the regulars selling their merchandise and produce.

He looked in the direction and saw a flash being reflected off a binocular. He wasn't stupid. Who did they think he was? Ever since his entrance back several months ago, he was on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar. He tossed aside his small coffee cup and blended into the crowd, shifting his way towards the curious source. Indeed, he was going to wipe out the target.

His staff was disguised as his walking cane. Occasionally, he glared out at the crowd, wondering how naïve this population was as compared to his home world. He figured his half brother was out there searching for him at this very moment. With the Tesseract awakening, he realized he could manipulate time once he tested his theory out.

He walked up the narrow thoroughfare and found a flight of stairs. Easily, he skipped up the steps until he found his way though the apartment complex. He tapped a doorknob until the metallic glowed orange and burst through the useless barrier.

His eyes scanned the room as he found files strewn about on the ground. They were indeed his pictures of his many guises. In another stash, the Tesseract in all of her glory with her vivid azure hue.

"Stand down, Loki."

The Asgardian shed his civilian clothes and morphed into his green jacket, while his staff altered to the original form. "Are you sure about this?" He slowly turned around to face his tail. "Well that's an interesting arm you have there…"

"Quit the small talk." He armed the blaster. "I need to bring you back to headquarters."

"Is that so?" He raised in eyebrow, while still casually walking about the room.

Bucky moved in a little closer, still having the laser trained on the half demi-god.

Loki stared at the red light that was aimed over his heart. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Shut up," he countered back.

"As you wish." A blue light rammed into Barnes as he lost sight of his target.

…

The time for the drop off had come and gone. Her point of contact was nowhere to be seen. The last message she had received was from yesterday that he was at the port fishing. And since then, the message trail grew cold. She downed the last of her tea before heading out, trying to find where her partner may have ended up. Working with him was nothing but a pain, since most of the time, he broke protocol and deviated from their plans. There was no room for deviation in their current mission spec, but it was Barnes after all, and so anything is game.

She had read his file before meeting him for the first time. She read about the incident in retrieving the Black Widow from hostile forces and how he had lost his arm in the process.

Her cell phone rang off and it was from headquarters. "Agent 13 here."

"Did you find him yet?"

"No sir, I'm indeed at the 'port.' I'm going to be at his last location."

"Be careful."

"Will do, sir."

Sharon Carter closed her cell phone and pulled out another gadget from her purse. The computer tech was well adapted to the field despite being in the doldrums of S.H.I.E.L.D. for the past three years, breaking down encrypted firewalls and occasionally tracking drones. When she first told Peggy that she was part of S.H.I.E.L.D., her older sister was less than thrilled to say the least. At one point, she somehow pulled rank and sent her to the doldrums to begin with, hoping that she wouldn't be on the field at all.

She shot a few pictures of the town square and mapped it on her camera. She pulled out Barnes' last know location and spun the image around, looking for possible routes their target may have escaped from. She punched in a few more codes before the security cameras were pulled in the direction of the signal.

Indeed, she didn't like what she saw…Loki.

…

She fired in a rapid sequence as mannequins appeared from obscure corners. With the gunfire, she heard gasps come from behind her. She placed her Glock down and grabbed at the spare from her belt. Without flinching, she maintained her precision and accuracy.

"Is that the Black Widow?" One of the new recruits whispered to his partner.

The room went silent as another round was fired. By now, the group was breathless for they feared the woman that stood ahead of them. "Focus now," Clint barked back at the new recruits. He glared over his own partner and watched her disarm the two Glocks. She pulled off her protective glasses and tossed them at him.

"Your turn," she mused before staring down the new recruits. She eyed infamous Hawkeye again, signaling to him that she would be seeing him later.

A couple of the keen-eyed recruits noticed a shift in their instructor's demeanor. "Everyone line up at your posts," he blew the whistle to start the exercise. Deep down, everyone knew this was going to be a very long day to say the least.

…

The cornfields were a distant memory now, as she found herself back in Manhattan. She slipped out of her training exercise and walked about the city until she made her way to the local market that was a block away from her apartment.

"The domestic life doesn't suit you." He found her hovering over the vegetable aisle. "Why did you scare my new recruits? Some of them peed in their pants."

She flashed her emerald eyes at him, "I was training you know."

"Funny."

He grabbed the basket from her hands as they both continued to shop. "I'm speeding up your intake. Fury thinks you can have the exam tomorrow." He reached for a box of granola.

She froze in her steps, "Don't you think you're rushing things?"

"No," he looked at her. "Your times are improving, Tash. And plus, you've been off the grid for eight months now."

"I didn't think you were counting." She eyed him with a hint for tonight's plan, "Let's take it to the mat then."

His gray eyes shifted with mischief, "Game on. Let's skip dinner and go straight for dessert."

"You're so full of it."

Needless to say, the Black Widow dominated the match. Despite his time spent as her sparring partner, she still outmatched him with her agility and spins. Clint pounded his hands on the mat as he gasped for air. The choke hold was enough for him as he laid on his belly in defeat. Somehow his shooting arm got twisted around his back. "You win," he gasped while flipping himself on his back with his arms outstretched. Sweat lined his t-shirt and shorts. He watched her walk off to the kitchen before disappearing around the corner. In the distance, he heard a shower being started.

"Are you coming?" she called out for him.

…

_Flames surrounded her as she felt hands wrap around her throat. Slowly, the smoldering eyes changed to flaming red. "You cannot escape from me, Natalia. Not even in death." He mocked back at her before crumbling into ashes. _

_She fell onto the ground until all was quiet. The heat died but then there was a sickening sound of footsteps coming towards her. A metallic hand reached out to her. _

She bolted straight up. In the darkness, her eyes adjusted. She poked at the sleeping form beside her but he was in a dead sleep. He had one of the bed sheets entangled at his waist line. She gathered a bed sheet and wrapped herself in it before walking out onto the balcony. The humid night air whipped about her wildly, but something wasn't right. A chill ran up and down her spine.

She stared at the city skyline until she heard footsteps come from behind her as a pair of hands found their way to her breasts. He palmed them through the light sheet. "What's wrong?" He whispered into her ear. "Another nightmare?"

"You can say that again," she leaned into him.

To Clint, it felt like he was fighting Alexei's ghost still. No matter how much time had elapsed, it seemed that the Red Guardian made his lasting impression on the Black Widow. "Come back to bed."

She twisted around, while letting the sheet fall from her bare shoulders. "I don't think I'm ready. It's too soon."

"You never know until you try," he smirked.

…

**Thanks for reading! Leave a review please. Until next time…**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Flashback_**

_Heaps of pencils and markers were sprawled out on his workspace. He knew he wasn't going anywhere with his recent commission. His eyes darted over to his cellphone, wondering if it was time to call it quits. He had to make a living somehow, but right now, he was barely scraping by on a hundred dollar budget per week. His stash of Ramen noodles was nearly depleted, but there was always the good old fashion peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And then again, he could sell his bike to make ends meet. That idea was always in the back of his mind, but it would only be a temporary fix._

_The door opened to the apartment. "Hey stranger, you've been here all day?" _

"_Yes I have," he mumbled as he tossed another paper ball into the wastebasket, but the paper bounced off the rim. _

"_You need to get some fresh air." Bucky started to toss his work clothes on the couch and ran to pick up a t-shirt from his dresser. "Let's hit the town tonight."_

"_I don't think so." Again, he gazed over his mess. "Deadline's coming."_

"_Screw the deadline. You need to have some fun." He went around the corner to grab a pair of jeans, "The Stark expo is going on right now. Live a little." He poked his head around the doorframe, "You might meet some ladies tonight…"_

"_Who is going to pay the bills?" the blond called out. _

"_Stop being the voice of reason, Rogers. You're so boring." _

"_Speak for yourself for a kid coming from Shelbyville, Indiana." He tossed a marker aside and put his hands up in defeat to appease his friend, "Fine then, I'll go with you for a couple of hours." _

"_Now that's the spirit." _

_Two hours into their night out on the town, Barnes was already scoping for potential prospects for his dear old friend. "How about that strawberry blonde at ten 'clock?"_

"_Would you quit it, Bucky?" _

"_You definitely need a girlfriend." _

"_And who says that?"_

"_Me." _

"_You're impossible." _

"_You're not making this any easier." _

_The two men walked through the crowds. Each one knowing that time was limited. Steve never really did say anything to Bucky when he got wind of his plan, but it's his life. "Let's grab a drink." _

"_Fine by me."_

_The two found a crowded bar about a half block away from the tech expo. The smoke clung to the air, as hoards watched various sporting games. The pair managed to find a single table along a wall. A barfly came by in a low cut, navy blue V-neck with torn jeans, and asked for their drinks. _

"_How about her?" Bucky slapped him on his shoulder in his playful banter. _

_Steve brushed him away and pulled out the peanuts. Slowly, he peeled them one by one, chucking the shells on the table, and occasionally, tossing one to his counterpart. _

_The ginger-haired barfly returned with their cold bottle of beers. "Anything else, boys?" _

"_We're good," Steve replied while sliding a bottle over to Bucky. "Cheers." The two men clanked their bottles together. "Are you nervous?"_

"_A little, but it'll be good." He took a swig at his bottle. "I just wish you were coming." _

"_Nah, I would just get in the way." His eyes took in the ambience of the crowded environment. _

"_You probably would."_

_They ordered several more rounds of beer until the peanut basket was empty. By now, Steve slightly swayed as he leaned forward. "I think it's time to go."_

"_You were always a lightweight," Bucky caught him before he hit his head on the table. "Up you go, string bean." _

_Steve quickly pushed his seat out without turning._

"_Hey dipshit, watch where you're going!" A 250-pound patron with tattoos across both of his arms lifted Steve off of his seat. _

_He quickly turned his head to the side as he saw a right hook come his way, but then he was dropped to the ground. Barnes lunged at the massive behemoth. The epic fight lasted for five minutes as other patrons got into it as well, exchanging cheap blows to the head or abdomen. In the end, Barnes and Rogers limped out hand in hand with bruised egos. _

"_Remind me not to go drinking with you again," the blond slurred his words and spat some blood out onto the sidewalk. _

**_End of Flashback_**

…

"What do you think about this?" Dr. Erskine walked up to Steve with the shield in hand.

"Red, white, and blue?"

"It suits you since you were born on July Fourth." The German scientist withdrew the lightweight metal from the young man. "It saved our lives, you know?"

Peggy walked in onto their powwow. "Saved who?"

"Never mind," Steve returned his focus at the tin cans that were lined up on the posts. One by one, he shot at them, sending the rustic metal into the sky. It was all from muscle memory now.

"You're getting better at that." The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent walked up to their newly converted experiment. "But you need to keep your arms straight." She poked him at the elbows. "Watch your shoulders as well."

Steve reloaded the gun, while Dr. Erskine went to pick up the targets again. "You know we have been on the run for quite some time." He looked in the distance. The same beige canvas mocked back at him with occasional cacti breaking up the view. "Who's on our tail?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has many enemies at the moment," she picked at her own gun and started to fire at will. The Red Guardian and HYDRA are currently active." She narrowed her focus and shot at the tin can to her far left. "The buzz is that everyone is after _the_ blue cube."

"And where do I fit into this picture?"

"You're the failsafe." She fired one more bullet, knocking the can to the ground.

"What do you mean?"

"Open your eyes, Rogers. Everything is about to change once the Tesseract reaches her full potential."

"I still don't follow."

"My boss has been tracking people to be part of a group in case the earth needed protection. You're going to be part of that group."

"Oh," a look of shock spread across his face.

"You said you wanted adventure…now you have it."

The blond watched the woman walked away. No matter how many times he analyzed the situation, he could never read her personality…maybe it was because of her military background. There was one conclusion that he made already about her...it was her stubbornness. It was same trait that he recognized from Natasha back in their high school days.

Dr. Erskine walked up to him with a handful of cans. "You know, I think you have a crush on her."

"I do not," he countered back.

"I wouldn't hold my breath." The Italian had a wicked smile on his face, "You don't even know how long I've been working with her."

"Enlighten me."

"Six years," he placed the cans on the small workbench. "She's always working."

"I can see that."

"You're the answer to my problem."

"I think you should get in line."

The scientist let out a small laugh and returned to the shield, making more modifications. "We need to get you a uniform."

…

The gym was empty in the early morning. She had slipped through the back doors with her temporary badge. It was the only time where she was by herself. The exam came and went. In the first two minutes, she wondered why she was there in the first place. She felt she could put a bullet through her examiner's head if she wanted to. It was a total waste of her time. After all, she was a prodigy from the Red Room. She knew how to beat the system.

Now she had a pressing matter at the moment. Clint was nowhere to be seen. The hours came and went, and she figured the hawk would pop back in to see how everything went, but he didn't.

She tossed her black duffle bag onto the ground and fished for her tennis shoes. _Figures that he wants to sleep with me. _She laced her shoes tightly and stretched out before hitting the synthetic pavement. At the moment, loud music blasted through her ears and she increased her power.

Sweat clung to her aqua tank top, as music from Fall Out Boy continued to pound against her eardrums. She looked down at her watch. Five minutes into her exercise, she kicked it into overdrive with her hamstrings tightening.

Her concentration broke when she heard other footsteps running on the track. She narrowed her eyes in annoyance as she increased her speed.

"Agent Romanoff," the familiar voice tried to catch her.

She continued to run, hoping he would stop in his attempt to pursue her.

"A word with you."

Seeing that Phil was going to literally pass out from over exhaustion, she slowed her strides down and yanked her ear buds out. "What is it, Agent Coulson?"

"Fury wants you." He panted, "You're no longer off the grid."

"Really?"

"Meeting is at 8 'clock this morning."

"Fine then," she stuck her ear buds back in and resumed her run, leaving Phil at the end of the track.

…

The Black Widow marched to Fury's room. Heads turned as she remained in her athletic gear. Her red hair was matted against her neck. "Agent Hill."

"Agent Romanoff, right this way." Maria held the mission specs tightly to her chest, as she talked into her Bluetooth set to another agent. "Don't take the shot unless you have the tactical advantage." She clicked on a button, "Sorry about that. There's a new hotspot."

The Russian watched quietly, "Where's Agent Barton?"

The air froze between the two female agents. "I'm not at liberty to disclose."

She arched an eyebrow, wondering what other secrets Fury was currently hiding. She pushed aside the doors to his office. "Why did you send Coulson this morning?"

"A good morning to you too, Agent Romanoff." He poured himself a fresh pot of coffee. "You passed your evaluations." He looked at her with his one good eye, "Have a seat, we need to chat."

"I prefer to stand." She crossed her arms in defiance.

"Agent Barton is already on the field. You'll be joining him very shortly." He nodded to Hill to give the folder over. "Apparently, the Tesseract has activated again." He took a sip from his cup, "To make matters worse, one of our agents is MIA...Bucky Barnes."

She flipped through the covers and tab dividers, glancing over the key details. "Does it involve this Loki demi-god?" A picture of the Asgardian in plain civilian clothes flanked on the side of the folder.

"Most indeed." He leaned forward with his hands clasped together, "Your cover will be Natalie Rushman."

…

**Thanks for reading! Thank you for the reviews, faves, and story alerts!**

**Reviews are much appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

Dive bombers zoomed above, dropping their cargo randomly on their targets. It took him awhile to get used to his surroundings. Soldiers ran about with metal helmets and rifles. Their olive-drab, wool uniforms were tattered with the chaos. His mind kicked into overdrive. Explosions rocked the ground as he made his way to safety. The tree line would provide coverage but snipers could be lurking in the brush. The last thing he remembered was confronting Loki and now he was in the thick of things.

The whistling of bombs came across again, and he ducked for cover. No matter where he hid, he would be labeled as an enemy. His metallic arm was enough to trigger anyone's attention.

An Allied soldier came rushing by. He didn't know what to make of Bucky Barnes. The two men sized each other for a second. "Run!"

The two ran over to a bridge. It was the only route to escape from the village. More planes started to make a third pass over the desolated village. "What year is it?"

"1945!"

"_Fuck,"_ Barnes mulled at the thought. He realized now that Loki had the ability to manipulate time. He ran at a breakneck speed, hoping to get away. Ahead of him, he found a little girl whimpering for her parents. He scooped up the three-year-old in his arms and ran as fast he could. The girl with blonde curls hushed in his arms as she closed her eyes to keep out the fires and nightmares.

The bridge rocked as the aerial assault rained over them. Mortar, dirt, and rocks shot through the air, maiming anyone that moved. The ground quaked again with a rumble that grew louder. Bucky turned his head to the side and saw his worst fear coming to life. He tossed the child to someone that was ahead of him, and felt his feet give away at the last moment. He closed his eyes as his body hit the water.

…

**Present Day**

Jane peered over the headlines, taking a pause from her breakfast that consisted of two slices of bread smeared with a chocolate hazelnut spread. For the past months, she couldn't keep her mind off of Thor. Thankfully, her work temporarily distracted her, but it wasn't enough. It was a smokescreen that she tried desperately to use, but her co-worker saw through it all.

Darcy came into their breakroom with computer equipment in hand, "You think it's wise to start up this program today with the storm coming in?"

The astrophysicist-in-training paused before taking another bite, "You know it's going to happen tonight. We can't use the other satellites…they'll track us. If we miss it, I don't know when it'll happen again."

"The telescope has been out of commission for such a long time. It was damaged by the last thunderstorm."

"I'll make the adjustments…don't worry."

"Its my job to worry." The brunette murmured as she bent down to pick up more wires and computer equipment.

"I appreciate it, but we need the data." She put the newspaper down, ignoring the headlines. "S.H.I.E.L.D. stole our last set of data already. We're already months behind."

"True," she nodded. "I'm just saying you need to take a break."

"This is _a _break."

"I'll be in the lab doing the prep the work."

Jane watched her worker bee shuffle out of the room with a box in hand. She didn't know how long this was going to last. She glanced back at the headlines, hoping to find anything about the item S.H.I.E.L.D. had pilfered from them.

…

The Quinjet touched down without any incident. The same rustic beige and reds came across the deceptive landscape. Somewhere out there, Barton was already holed up on his assignment. She bounded down the stairs with her gear. Already, a silver sedan was waiting for her.

"Ms. Rushman, I presume." The Black Widow acknowledged her cover and she grabbed the keys from the driver. "Further instructions are on the seat." She nodded in response and didn't ask any questions.

The safe house was nestled on the outskirts of the southwestern town and overlooked a small part of a canyon. It was eerily similar to the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters that Barton had initially brought her to. The hairs on her neck bristled at the thought he had the gall to do so. She was still mad at him for not contacting her earlier this week.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Clint walked down the hallway in a pair of shorts. A purple hue marred his upper left shoulder with an impression of a strap that matched his quiver that he uses.

Natasha raised an eyebrow, not wanting to know what stunt he pulled this time, "Save it, Mr. Nolan," she walked passed him using his current cover.

"I wanted to tell you, but Fury shipped me out first thing." He rubbed his sore shoulder, hoping to win some sympathy points with his new partner.

"We're going to be chasing our tails on this one."

"You mean when shit hits the fan."

"You're impossible, Barton."

"Speak for yourself, Ms. Rushman." He leaned closer towards her, "You nearly escaped from me the first time."

She continued to walk, "This _will_ strictly be a professional relationship."

The words punched him in the gut. One thing he knew for sure was to never piss off his partner again. But deep down, he figured it was going to be a golden rule that will always be broken in some form, whether she liked it or not. They were both loose cannons in their own respective ways.

The master assassins came to the end of the hallway of their temporary safe house. Their rooms were right across from each other. She paused at the doorway but held her tongue. She slipped through the door and sat on the empty mattress.

The archer saw the change in her demeanor and sat beside her. "What's wrong?"

"This will be our first mission together."

He nodded, "Yeah, and your point is…"

"I don't know," she grabbed the edge of the mattress and leaned forward, feeling the gravity of the situation.

"Look, Nat…I trust you." She looked up at him with her emerald eyes. "There's a reason why they paired us."

"There's red in my ledger…"

"I know." Already, he was breaking one of their rules, but before he could get any further both of their cell phones rang off, killing the mood instantaneously.

Natasha reached for hers first, leaving the archer to fall back onto the mattress, "Agent Romanoff speaking."

"You need to come see this." A female's voice broke in and out of the conversation. "I'm sending you the coordinates. Bring Agent Barton with you." She glanced over her shoulder and saw Barton with his head raised waiting for the words. "Suit up."

…

Towering thunderheads loomed ahead. The brunette kept a wary eye on the growing armada, but she had to finish the last coordinates before the storm swept through.

"You're going to get yourself killed."

"I'm almost finished, Darcy." Jane scooted over the ledge, making the last adjustments.

Her assistant pulled nervously at her bucket hat. "You're seriously pushing it a little too far, Foster. Do you have a death wish?"

She tossed the screwdriver back into her pile of tools. Thunder boomed in the distance with flickers of lightning bolts striking the canyon walls. "You know the supernova is going to happen tonight."

"Well you might not get the data because of this storm," she shouted against the howling winds. "Dr. Selvig isn't going to like this either."

"He's still fuming about the data we lost from last time. Our jobs are on the line."

Darcy bit her lip, wondering when her boss was ever coming down. "Time to wrap it up," she pointed at her watch, while she gazed up at the towering gray clouds. Lightning strikes intensified as jagged white beams stretched from the heavens. "One-one-thousand…two-one-thousand…three-one-thous and…four-one-thousand." BANG. The longhaired brunette jumped at the sound seeing how close the storm was approaching.

"All right, I'm coming," she dropped her toolbox onto the ground and walked across the platform. Her sneakers squeaked on the wet surface. Another white flash crossed the sky and in seconds, a boom came in its wake.

"While we're still young!"

The rain intensified with its pinpricks. She took one last look at her telescope before climbing down the stepladder. Another lightning bolt struck close by with its jagged edges highlighting the dark skies. One of the offshoots struck near the telescope.

Darcy barely had the time to react as she watched everything unfold in slow motion. "Jane!" she screamed, watching in horror as she watched her co-worker's body land to the muddy ground. "Speak to me, boss." She shook her several times, trying to wake her up. "No…No…no." She whipped out her cellphone, but it was useless. There was no cell signal. "Come on, Jane. Don't do this to me." She started chest compressions frantically, hoping anything would bring her back. "Come on!" She yelled out, but it was futile. Her tears mixed with the raindrops.

"Step aside," a low voice came from behind her.

She slumped to the ground, growing numb with every second that passed. She watched the stranger come to Jane's aid.

He bent down to feel any breaths, but he didn't. Without thinking, he quickly started chest compressions again. After the first cycle, he gave two short quick breaths before restarting the chest compressions. "Come back to me, Jane." Mjolnir laid by his side. "Come on," he shouted to her. He felt a crunch underneath his hands.

"You're hurting her," she shouted.

"I'm saving her." He leaned down to give two more breaths. The water cascaded down from his face.

"It's time to give up," she reached over to him and tried to stop him.

"No," his voice boomed against the cracking thunder. "You don't understand...she's my fiancée."

That's when it dawned on her…it was Jane's Thor.

…

**The story is starting to pick up! Thanks again for the reviews, faves, and story alerts. Please keep them coming.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: I probably should've warned you all about the time jump back to WWII with Bucky in the previous chapter. I gave the Tesseract the ability to transport characters back in time. Sorry about that. My mind just got ahead of itself with plotlines and with me working on nightshifts; it's going to be interesting. My apologies. Thank you to The13thGirlWithoutASoul for pointing it out to me. **

**As for the timeline, this story is set at least nine months in relation to "From Where You Are."**

...

Natasha knelt down and picked up a handful of gravel. The tiny granules slipped between the webs of her fingers and fell back to the ground. She glanced over her shoulder as Clint was walking 50 yards from her, checking to see if there were any other traces.

"What happened?"

Agent 13 pulled out her tablet. "Radar picked up an abnormal energy surge. It matched Loki's signal."

The master assassin wiped the remnants of the gravel on her jeans and got back up. Her hands reached for her Glock. "Right."

"Sorry to call you two on such short notice, I was hoping to meet on better circumstances."

"He's used to it." The redhead shrugged it off and looked at her partner. "Your partner was Agent Barnes?"

"He's still MIA. There was no trace of him at his last location. He was tracking Loki." She kicked at a pile of gravel, "I told him not to leave by himself, but he did anyhow."

"Reminds me of another person I know," she glanced back at her own partner.

"Did you know him?"

"I met him briefly in the training room. He was recuperating from his surgery."

Clint pulled away his sunglasses and clipped them on his neckline. "I've got something."

The two agents walked their way to the archer. "What is it?" Carter looked down at the ground, wondering what the Hawk picked up.

"Give me that tablet." He pointed over to their new contact. He zipped through several screens until the archive came up. A red light emitted from the gadget and scanned the burnt residue. His cool eyes gazed up the canyon walls, wondering why the desert southwest was such a hotspot at the moment.

"What are you thinking?" Natasha looked over to him, as he held the device still.

"They're all pieces."

"I'm not following you." She raised an eyebrow, wondering how anyone could think the dry heat at the moment. Thunderheads retreated in the distance.

"First the hammer, crazy weather patterns, and energy discharges. They're all connected."

"I think the heat is finally getting to you."

The tablet gave off a signal, and the trio looked down on the screen. Their faces fell as they saw the word, HYDRA, flash across the screen.

"Crud," the archer murmured.

Natasha remained silent, wondering how much their mission status has changed. She remembered pouring through the archives in her downtime. "Why now?"

"The Red Guardian is no a longer a threat," Carter piped into the conversation.

"It's possible," Clint gave the device back to her. "Things just got complicated."

"There's a local diner called Rusty's. Meet me there tomorrow night at 6:30."

The trio walked back to their respective vehicles, but a pair of eyes followed their every movement. He watched them patiently from the safety of a rock outcropping. "Targets acquired," he punched his com link. He heard car doors slamming, and he then stepped out into the sunlight with his metallic arm catching some of the rays. In mere seconds, he activated the holographic feature and his arm turned into flesh.

"Proceed."

He continued to watch from his perch, noting Agent 13's car. He followed it with his eyes until disappeared around the canyon's wall.

…

Peggy glazed over the folders on her desk. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s insignia was stamped over the beige surface.

"What is Directive 1771?"

She pulled the file aside as Steve walked through the doorway. She made a mental note of his increasing strength and abilities. "It's one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s many projects at the moment. And you are it." She said matter-of-factly. "Dr. Erskine said you made lots of progress since the injection."

"I feel great overall."

"Right you are," her British accent coming through with the last few syllables. "Hopefully, we can start working in the field soon. There's enough chatter already."

"What do you mean?"

"HYDRA has been active. There are rumors of a secret weapon roaming about, but no one has seen it."

Steve reached over to catch a cup of coffee that was about to fall on the desk. His eyes briefly caught another paper. A picture of Bucky was plastered on the sheet. Peggy saw the change in his posture.

"Rogers, are you all right?"

"Yeah." He picked up the paper, "I know this man. He was my roommate a few years back."

"You mean, Agent Barnes?"

"Yeah."

"He's been part of S.H.I.E.L.D. for quite some time. He's been MIA for the past two months." She glanced over to a picture of her younger sister that was taken at a beach. "He works with my sister in gathering intelligence."

"You have a sister?"

She shuffled the papers on her desk, "And yes, that is all I'm going to say. If you'll excuse me, I have to make a phone call back to HQ."

Steve walked out of the makeshift office and wandered out to the back to the toolshed. By now, Dr. Erskine had painted the shield in the red, white, and blue motif. "Out of curiosity, what did they call you back in high school?"

"Cap."

The scientist placed the last finishing touches on the lightweight shield, "You should use the name more often."

"I'm your guinea pig at the moment."

"On the contrary, you gave Directive 1771 a big jumpstart." He added the finishing touches to the red outer ring. Already, the metallic star was coming alive under the fluorescent bulb. "Let's a grab a drink, shall we?"

Steve obliged the scientist. The two men took the jeep to the nearby market and brought back a bottle of scotch. Peggy stood out by the front door, wondering where the two went out.

"You know it's not safe out here," her eyes held knives at both of them.

"Think about it Agent Carter. Directive 1771 is still in play because of Steve. And for unknown reasons, no one can replicate the data to this date."

"Precisely, these are still dangerous times." Already, she was thinking of the ramifications if she lost either of them. "What happens if HYDRA captured one of you?"

Steve uncorked the bottle and poured the liquid into three cups, "Live a little, Peggy. Just for this one moment. We're always on the run."

Agent Carter was taken aback a little by the informality in his voice. It always has been Agent Carter. "You can never be too careful." She reluctantly took the small glass into her own hand. "Here's to us."

The scientist then budded in, "And to Captain America." The sepia liquid in his glass caught the last rays of sunlight in the increasing twilight.

Steve paused with his glass raised, taking in the moment. The three clanked their glasses together. Little did they know their solitude was going to be shattered.

…

Natasha reviewed her mission specs one last time, leaving nothing to chance. Her current role will be working as a summer intern in the legal department for a local modeling agency with potential to travel to overseas if the mission is a success. The newest information has a hotspot in Tokyo. And of course, Fury didn't elaborate anything else in the current file.

Her phone pinged with a new hit from the data that they collected earlier in the day. Sure enough, there was something more than the chemical traces left by HYDRA.

"All set for your close up, Ms. Rushman?"

"I'm just an intern," she tossed her phone back onto the table. She glared up at him with slight annoyance.

Barton walked out from the shower, wearing shorts again due to the stifling dry heat. The purple bruise over his left shoulder was getting bigger. "I'll bet they'll have you modeling in no time." He paused, waiting for her reaction. If any other man had said that, Natasha would've set him in his place either with a bullet or with her Wushu tactics. Five seconds passed and nothing happened.

"You never did say how you injured your shoulder?" She tossed the folder aside on the coffee table.

"I moonlight as a security consultant." He rubbed the back of his head.

"Really?"

"Sure do, and it looks like I'll be seeing you at work."

"I can handle it myself," she purred.

"And use your womanly charms." He sat across from her, watching her evolve into her role. "I thought this was going to be a strictly professional relationship."

Her breath ran across his face, as she straddled him in his seat on the couch "It can be, if you want it to be, Mr. Nolan." She kissed the side of his neck before his hands reached out for her blouse. The white buttons dropped to the ground. "I'm going to be running out of blouses before this mission ends," she spoke in her low voice into his right ear. Her fingers traced over the bruise on his shoulder, and they found their way to several scars from his previous missions.

His hand caught her light ministrations, "You won't be needing them often," he looked into her piercing jade eyes before kissing her again.

She broke his kiss, "Promise me one thing?"

"What?"

"No more stupid stunts, Clint."

"You don't trust my quick reflexes?" he grabbed her wrists and flipped her onto her back.

She raised her head to kiss him again, letting her red curls fall behind her shoulders. She felt one of his hands reach for her bra clasp.

...

**Thanks again for reading! Thank you for the reviews, faves and story alerts as well.**

**I posed one question back in FWYA regarding 1771, and it still remains unanswered. So to end the anticipation, the answer refers to Jeremy Renner's birthday. **

**Please review, I would love to know what you all think. It will help me get through this month of night shift. **


	5. Chapter 5

Darcy tried to absorb the events in the past twenty-four hours. Here in the flesh was Thor, sitting on the couch, waiting for Jane to wake up. Somehow his massive form didn't fit with the room's interior design of muted greens and yellows. "So, where have you been?" She was past the point of formalities.

Thor's deep eyes remained on his fiancée, "Anywhere but here," he took a brief pause, wondering how to tread through the conversation, "I wanted to come back sooner, but I needed to figure some things out."

"Jane looked for you every single day." Darcy swiped a magazine off the table, "She thought I wasn't looking, but I did."

"I'm sorry to have caused her so much pain."

"Tell it to her, not to me." She flipped the page, "If you hurt her ever again, I will Taser you."

Thor's massive hand reached out to Jane's. "You were right…you were on the verge of something grand." The sterile smell from the hospital room was getting to him. He didn't want to watch her suffer. "I remember the nights you called when you found it. And thanks to you, there is something more out there that you'll have to see for yourself."

Darcy shifted in her seat, trying not to eavesdrop, but it was her nature to be up front with everything. After all by default, she is a scientist at heart. "I'm going to the cafeteria, want anything?"

"I'm fine."

"I'll grab something for you."

Thor nodded and watched the brunette slip through the doorframe. With the knowledge that Odin gave him, deep down he knew he had to keep Jane safe. The Asgardian god was beside himself again. "Come back to me, my sweet lady."

…

"I'm Natalie Rushman, the new intern working in legal." She tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Wait one moment please," the young secretary walked back in slick high heels. "Let me check with Ms. Locke."

Natasha surveyed the foyer, noting the entrances and security cameras. Oddly enough it was plain and simple office with cream-colored walls. She straightened her blue blouse and black skirt. So far the early phase of this mission didn't go off without a hitch.

"Ms. Rushman, right this way."

The Black Widow followed obediently. Her senses heightened with every step forward. _Act naturally. _

"Ms. Natalie Rushman, it's a pleasure to meet you." A firm handshake was placed in her palm. "My name is Robin, I'll be working with you during this summer."

"Pleasure is mine."

"Let me show you around." Robin grabbed her keys and ID card before pushing her way through the glass doors. "You came in the right time. There's already a push for a new contract overseas, but you didn't hear it from me."

"Really?"

"The talks are set up for next week." The petite female with black hair punched a button and swiped her card, "It's going to be a scramble if the deal pulls through. They're always looking for fresh faces."

Natasha clutched her black handbag as she entered the elevator with her new co-worker. "What's my role here?"

"Getting the models' contracts signed ASAP." The elevator pinged as they rose higher. The doors opened and several photo shoots were underway. Some of them looked like to be in their teens, while the oldest looked at least in their mid-twenties. "School promo at this point. We have local designers showcasing their latest fashion ideas. It's a win win situation for all parties involved."

The two women crossed several more wide-open stages until coming into the conference room. "Robin, my dear. It's good to see you." One of the photographers shouted out with a French accent. "Who is this lovely lady?" He directed his camera at her.

"This is Natalie Rushman. She's _only_ working in legal." Robin turned her attention to the photographer, "This is Damon LeBlanc."

"You have an excellent complexion." A flash came from his camera.

"I don't think so," the Black Widow played along, toying both of them in their unsuspecting conversation. "Hardly use any makeup."

"If you change career plans, let me know."

"Will do."

Natasha followed Robin in tow. "You won't believe how long the trek is to get to legal. I've always told them to change it, but administration never budges. Hope you got your running shoes."

"No kidding." Her high heels clicked in the hallways.

"Ever thought of seeing Runway?"

"No, not really."

Robin swiped her card again until they came across a second conference room. "Here we are. At least, it has the nicer view of the compound. The sunsets are gorgeous up here." She dropped her belongings on her desk, "Coffee is in the break room, while the main cafeteria is just down those stairs. And the bathroom is on the right hand side of this hallway." She grabbed a couple of papers before handing them over to her. "Here's your first assignment."

…

By noon, the cafeteria was flooded with assistants and models. Natasha reached for one of the pre-made salads from one of the stations.

"You dropped your keycard, Ms. Rushman."

"Thanks..." she waited for a response from the security guard.

"Mr. Nolan."

"Right," the legal intern kept walking with her tray in hand.

"I haven't seen you before." He swiped a bottle of pop off the shelf.

"I just started today," she playfully ignored him, warning him to not get to close.

"How's the first day?"

"Not bad."

"Good, I'll be seeing you around."

Robin walked up to her, "Were you just flirting with the security guard?"

"No."

"Several models go crazy for him at times." Robin grabbed a bottle of Fuji water.

"I bet they sure do."

…

Coulson swung by Hill's desk, "What's this?" she looked up at her co-worker. A small manila envelope sat on the corner of her desk.

"Call it security. A contingency plan if something happens to me."

"What are you talking about?"

"You'll know when to use it when the time comes." He was about to walk away, "the only stipulation is that they mustn't know."

"What about Fury?"

"He's the one that came up with this plan."

"I still think he has aces up his sleeves that he isn't telling a single soul."

"You got that right," he sighed. "Any luck with our agents?"

"Phase one has been initiated. There has been one hit so far from our friends."

"Good. I want to keep an eye on this Loki character."

"I don't need a repeat of Sao Paulo." She grabbed her com link and listened to the field calls.

Coulson grabbed his sunglasses, "Just remember what I said about earlier."

"Will do." She dialed several numbers on her computer before a secured line was established. "What's the progress?"

Agent 13 sat in front of the screen with a bottle of water, "Contact has been made. I'm supposed to meet with them later today to get the groundwork ready. Still no sign of Barnes."

"Understood." She reached over for a file on her desk, "Any luck with the jump drives from his stash?"

"Nothing. Someone took great lengths to erase the data."

"How unfortunate," Hill narrowed her eyes, "Keep me posted."

"Acknowledged, I'm sending some of the defragmented data now." Sharon disconnected the line first. She glanced back at the encryption program that was running in the background. The data was an alphabet soup to her at the moment and the process was slow. There had to be something that Barnes left behind.

A knock came from her motel's door. Sharon hid her computer and gadgets in a third compartment in her luggage before heading up front. She stashed her own Glock in her back pocket in case for emergencies. She peered through the peephole, but there was no one there. Slowly, she slid to the edge of the window and gazed out through an open crack in the curtain. Still, there was no one. In the back of her mind, she wished she went to a different motel instead of this shady one. The number one rule in any spy craft game that she learned was to stay hidden.

Sharon peered out again through the curtain before a hand smashed through the window, grabbing her. She recoiled as quickly as she could, but the tech analyst was too slow. The black-coated assailant leapt through the window, pinning her to the ground. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her hands clawed at her partner's arm. "Bucky," she gasped. She found her Glock above her head before it was swatted away from her. Her fingers slid down to her watch and she activated a distress signal.

…

_The air was cold. Jane felt like an outsider looking inward onto the scene. What is this place? The terrain was made up of rocks, but a crystallize sheen was on them. She walked a few yards until she couldn't go any further. She looked behind her. It was almost as if the person came from a Shakespeare play she had seen long ago. The ornate robe of gold and green rippled in the wind. His staff was pointed at something in the distance as an energy charge blew past her. Rocks yielded under the force and a burly scream was heard. _

_Jane tried to push forward but something still held her back. She watched as another form emerged from the smoke. Her breath held in her chest. It was Blake, but only that he was dressed in a Shakespearean costume as well. His red cape was tattered and his hands were bloodied. And then there was the hammer. How did he get that? It was the same object that Coulson stole from her. _

_The ground rumbled with shockwaves from the deceptive hammer. Jane waited for the point of impact, but there was none. She looked around as the other caped man came closer from the other side. His eyes focused on something that was behind her. The staff was no longer directed at her. _

_Jane turned around to see clouds of smoke that coalesced into one. The shadowy figure had menacing eyes honed in on her. Out of nowhere, energy blasts came from all three sides. For one brief second, her eyes connected with Blake's as his hands reached out for her before he screamed. A stream of blood trickled down from where his right hand used to be. The hammer fell to the ground. _

Jane awoke from her abrupt nightmare, gasping for air. Her eyes searched in the unfamiliar surroundings until they fell upon the body beside her bed.

"You're awake." Thor pulled his seat closer to her bedside.

"How are you here?"

"It's a long story."

Thor spent the next two hours talking to Jane. He told her about his travels and how he met Odin. He watched her hold her interests and slowly, he concluded his story with the Nine Realms by drawing on a journal he found in her bag.

By now, Jane was drifting off to sleep. "Midgard…hm."

Thor pulled her blanket and draped it across her chest. He brushed aside a few strands of her hair that fell on her face.

…

**Survived my nights, and got through my Writer's Block. You may have seen me post a new story titled, "All Too Well." **

**I still haven't watched Thor yet, but I plan on to. Sorry if there were any inconsistencies with the characters. At least, there's YouTube. As for the plot, you all must be wondering what in the world I'm doing…ssshh it's still a secret...only detail I'm going to spill is that there will be a character from the comic books making an appearance. **

**Special shout out to: Brandi Golightly, peanut2b, and Lollypops101 for their reviews. **

**Thanks again for reading! Thank you to those who faved, or placed this story on their alerts. **

**Reviews are appreciated, not just because they make me happy. They help me gauge your reactions…the longer the better. So please fill in the box below. Thank you. **

**Until next time...**


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you trying to compromise this mission?" Natasha stormed across the main living room, loosening several buttons on her blouse.

"I'm trying to stir up some attention." Barton tossed his mission specs aside and reached for the tablet. "Nice to see you too, roomie."

"Fuck off." Flames burned in her eyes. "I can just kill you sometimes."

"Why haven't you?" he scanned his tablet, while holding a pen in his mouth.

"It's not even the first day…идиот."

"What did you say?" he dropped the pen onto the screen and it closed a window on HYDRA's background information.

"Idiot," she shouted down the hallway before turning on the shower.

Right then, both of their cellphones rang off. "Fuck," Clint muttered. "There won't be a six 'clock meeting. Carter is missing."

The shower stopped and Natasha stormed back into the living room, ripping the keys off the table. "I'm driving."

…

The shady motel's sign flickered on and off in the waning sunset. Already, a few of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were on the scene. The Hawk and Black Widow walked through the activity, sliding through the safeguards before entering Carter's room. The cracked window was enough to show the brute force of the attack. The forensics team was already taking samples of the blood found by the window.

The number one question on everyone's mind…where were the computers she had? Agent Hill furiously sent out warnings to the team that they needed to find the hardware. Clint gazed back over the main table in the room. Books and papers were scattered about, distracting the scene.

Natasha walked in the back, overturning anything they may have been mundane to the regular bystander. The trail grew cold with every minute.

"Barton…Romanoff…you need to come and see this." Agent Stillwell stood in the doorway with a gloved hand. The partners walked up to him with a look of dismay. The hardware had been smashed to oblivion. He then pointed over to the trash bin and found Sharon's luggage smashed as well.

"We have a mole." Barton scanned the faces on the scene.

"It looks like that way. Only S.H.I.E.L.D agents know about that secret compartment." Agent Stillwell placed the evidence into a secured case.

"Barnes has gone rogue." The Black Widow stepped up after glancing the hotel surveillance videos. "But why would he destroy his own data?"

"That's the million dollar question." Stillwell put more of the fragments into a plastic bag. "Agent Carter has a sister named Peggy…she's probably not too far from here."

"What do you mean?" The Widow folded her arms across her chest.

"Agent Margaret Carter is stationed out here but for different reasons. Her mission is classified."

"Tell me something that isn't then," Barton butted into the conversation.

"Agents Romanoff and Barton..." a voice called from behind them. Phil stepped on the scene.

"Now where did you come from?" Barton eyed his handler.

"Just checking in to see how my two agents are doing."

"Seriously, Phil…" Barton shot him a look. "You never randomly check up on us."

"I was out picking up some donuts and decided to swing by. We have a temporary outpost setup now." Phil looked over the scene, "That's beside the point. We are not going to tell Agent Peggy Carter of the current situation."

…

_**Flashback**_

"_Let's dance," Bucky sized his opponent up from the corner of the mat. "I'll go easy on you." _

_Sharon crouched down to the ground, "I wouldn't hold your breath, partner." The tech analyst mentally took notes. "Brain versus Braun…round one." _

"_Interesting how you put yourself first." Bucky raised a glance at her. _

"_Don't underestimate the quiet ones." Sharon slid across the floor and before getting enough momentum to perform a back flip, countering his move. _

"_I do say, I didn't see that one coming." He reached around to grab her shoulder before knocking her down to the mat. _

_Carter twisted off to her side and pulled herself from the ground. _

_Agent Hill watched the new agents spar, jotting down notes._

"_Reminds me of Black Widow and Hawkeye sparring," Agent Stillwell sat next to her. _

"_I wouldn't go that far." She typed a few notes down, "The Hawk and Black Widow have something else deeper." The agents returned their gaze back on the new recruits. _

_Carter held her ground despite her weak background initially in martial arts, but she caught on quick. The analyst stalked her partner and found an opening that would end this match swiftly. She gained momentum before she struck him with her sambo technique. _

_Bucky landed down with a thud, realizing to never underestimate his partner. _

_**End of Flashback**_

…

"Why are you doing this, Bucky?" Sharon came out of her mental fog and watched her partner move about the room. The leather straps dug into her skin as she felt the cold table against her skin.

"She's awake, sir." His left arm returned back to the metallic form. He reached over for a vial and drew up a serum with a syringe.

"Hello Ms. Carter."

"Who the hell are you?"

"You'll know my name soon enough." The man stepped around in the shadows. "Continue, Winter Soldier."

The general watched for a few minutes before walking away from his secluded platform. In the background, screams pierced the small room.

Loki remained quiet, "I held up my end of the bargain, I gave you your newest recruit," his eyes wandered back down to the cell where the Winter Soldier was interrogating Sharon. " Do you have my cube?"

The man stood there in silence. "We're still looking."

"My patience is growing thin." A blue light emitted from his staff. "You've been warned."

…

Natasha watched the meeting drag on for hours. For the past week, sleep hadn't come easily to her and she couldn't help the feeling that she was being watched. It was the same feeling whenever Alexei would creep back into her mind. Right now, with the lack of evidence coming from S.H.I.E.L.D., every mission became stagnant. Fury had been at a loss of words and the Council was ready to the pull plug on everything. But now, both Clint and her had to find the Winter Soldier before something else happened. That was the code name that came from Sharon's encryption file before she was attacked.

Natasha focused back at her task. Robin was already translating some of the main points from Japanese to English. Whatever cards were on the table, both sides were being stubborn mules at this point.

Robin signaled her to bring over more copies of the contract. "Make sure Damon is aware of what's going on."

"Right," she clutched the folder and walked out. Down the corridor and several yards later, the photo shoots were wrapping up. Damon was perched in one corner, taking several candid shots. "Robin wanted you to have these."

"Perfect." He took several more pictures, "How are the talks?"

"Going as expected. I think we'll get it."

"Excuse me, ma chérie, looks like there's trouble in paradise."

A group of models congregated around one of their own. Damon walked in the middle of it. "Give her some room."

Natasha walked up to the small circle and found a brunette lying on the ground. She had remembered seeing her last week when she first started. Rumors had been spreading like wildfire that she was sleeping with one of the photographers. A hurried rush of medical personal came and by, and whisked her off.

Robin came down to see what the hoopla was all about, seeing that she was still working on the Japan project. "Don't tell me we just lost another one?" Natasha nodded her head in response. "I don't think I can handle another incident and still work on this major contract."

Damon walked up, "Ms. Rushman can model."

The Black Widow stopped in her tracks, pretending to be in shock. "I don't know about that."

"She'll be a perfect replacement. What do you think?"

"I said she was only suppose to work in legal, Damon."

"We're short staffed right now!"

"Do you think you can pinch-hit for us?" Robin was desperate at this time as she rubbed her eyes with a weary look. Her cell phone buzzed nonstop and she quickly texted back.

Natasha paused briefly, considering the very few options at the time. All the alarm bells were going off in her head. "Very well then."

"Good you're coming with me to Tokyo."

…

Loki sat on an empty seat on the rooftop. Here he was halfway around the world. In the distance, Tokyo Skytree was glowing blue. For everything he has done, he was nowhere closer to getting the Tesseract.

When he first had it in the lab back in Sao Paulo, he was just a scientist. And with the first explosion, the cube unlocked his potential and destiny. Now, Loki craved for it more, being consumed by the poison and magic. The cube showed him the plan that he needed to follow to achieve his full goal of the Bifrost, but there were several obstacles in his way still. An image of Thor still chased him in his mind.

For now, he listened in onto the sights and sounds of the Tokyo nightlife from his perch, while he still remained the grandmaster, pulling the strings. He heard the door open from behind him and he slowly turned his head to see a shadow slipped through.

"I have brought reinforcements."

"And how is that going to be bring me closer to the cube?" He tapped his staff against the floor.

"The Winter Soldier has been successful in his ways." The older man nodded to a shadow.

Loki paused in confusion for a brief second, but a flicker of mischief wasn't too far from his eyes. "Do enlighten me."

The black hooded figure stepped forward. She pulled away at her hood revealing her jet-black hair tied up into a bun with a pair of jade hair sticks. "This is Robin Locke."

"Pleasure is all mine," she bowed her head down. "My real name is the Black Lotus."

"It seems we have a few pests to eliminate but they might be of some value to us to get your cube back."

"What do you mean?"

"They're part of S.H.I.E.L.D. with higher security clearance." She held up a disk in her hand showing the two agents working their covers back at the modeling agency. The scene from the cafeteria replayed on the hologram.

The demi-god fixated on the master assassins. "There's potential."

…

"What are you thinking?" Clint found Natasha sitting up on the king size bed, going through tomorrow's plan of the photo shoot. "Do they suspect us?"

"Hopefully not, but anything goes," she uncrossed her legs and tossed a photograph off to the side. "Phil will be our eyes and ears from New Mexico." Clint ran a hand up and down her back, feeling the curves he memorized. "Don't get fresh," she craned her neck to see her partner.

"You should wear the black one with the lace." He flipped through several pictures of corsets and bustiers.

"In your wildest dreams."

"You have no idea."

Natasha felt the bed lighten and listened to the footfalls from her partner. Down in the hallway, she heard the bathroom door close, and a few seconds later, the water started to run. She dropped her paperwork and silently, sneaked her way to the bathroom. The steam coalesced on the walls and mirror, and she could barely see his body through the frosted glass. She slipped out of her clothes and joined him after flipping the switch for the cold spray.

...

**So what will happen at the photo shoot?**

**Thanks again for reading! ****Reviews are appreciated.**


	7. Chapter 7

The early light slipped through the windows. Even thousands of miles away, it was the same feeling he had in New York and Iowa. Her fiery curls were splayed off to the side and her bare back faced him. Slowly, he traced mini circles against her shoulder blade.

"Stop waking me up," she murmured into her pillow.

He continued with his circles, ignoring her.

She flipped to his side, meeting his gray eyes. He stretched lazily with the bed sheet hanging at his waistline. "Morning sleepy head."

She gave him a narrowed glare, "Give me five more minutes."

"No."

She poked him in the shoulder. "I'll see you at work, Mr. Nolan." She hopped out of the bed and padded over to her closet, neglecting to grab any of her discarded clothing from the bathroom.

"Just remember what I said from yesterday." He called out to her before falling back to sleep.

…

"You have circles under your eyes." Robin grabbed the concealer from the kit. "I told you to get some sleep."

"The turbulence kept me up on the flight." She dabbed at the spots that Robin had missed.

"I'll see you out there."

She undid the bun on her hair and the red curls cascaded down her back. She slipped out of the black silk robe and walked to the main studio. All eyes turned including Clint's when she passed him. She put on a show for everyone with a sway of her hips. When Damon saw her, he was speechless.

"What pose?" Her voice was low and professional.

Damon pointed over to the faux white fur on the ground. Natalie lay on the ground, grasping the white fur close to her body. The black bra with lace embellishments was in stark contrast to the surroundings. She pulled her red hair, exposing her left shoulder. Damon called over for the make up artist to give one final touch up and she applied a deep red lipstick along with lip-gloss.

Several flashes came from Damon's camera as he captured the poses. Clint felt the jealously surge through his veins. He didn't like that his partner was utterly exposed to a whole group of testosterone driven males. At this point, he couldn't jeopardize the mission parameters. _She's going to be the death of me_.

Robin walked by with her cell phone in hand, "She's gorgeous."

"Yeah, she is."

"Rumor has it that you two have been smitten."

"Uh no…not really." His gaze went towards the petite woman that stood by him.

"Models talk and I've seen a few things myself. I would keep it away from the public eye." Robin walked away and answered another call.

Clint didn't know what to make of the conversation. He had been in touch with the base in New Mexico, but there was not a single hit from HYDRA or the mysterious cube they were tracking. From his stint of missions before the Black Widow, this lull was never a good sign. It always meant a storm was coming, and that his most used phrase was going to come true again.

The security guard was brought out of his thoughts when he saw her return to the floor in a different lingerie piece. It was an ivory corset with ribbons that crisscrossed on both sides that tapered down to her waist. Ivory tulle covered her bust with more ribbons that crisscrossed, narrowing her waistline. This time her lips were covered with a nude lipstick and her eyes had a smoky effect to them.

Natasha played her cover well, as she continued to pose for Damon. She played with the ribbons on the corset, loosening them at times while she let parts of the tulle fall lower from her bust. Clint clenched his gun, realizing the effect she had on him, but he played his cool. She was becoming one tough act to follow. She ran her hand through her curls and pulled her head back, pushing her bust further for the camera.

"One more pose, Natalie." Damon continued with the shots, "It's a wrap!"

Robin came back with more paperwork. It seemed like she was glued to her cell phone. She held out the black robe for Natalie and smiled, "Great work. There's going to be an after party in the main lobby tonight. Bring your new boyfriend along. We got the contract approved."

"How did you know?"

"I just know." Robin winked back.

"We'll see you later then." Natalie smiled and synched up her robe. She walked over to Clint and teased him in front of all prying eyes.

…

"Where have you been?" Hill searched the archives for any HYDRA activities that linked the Winter Soldier.

"I've been fishing." Coulson grabbed his seat and looked over to his new trainee. "Stillwell did most of the work actually."

"Something tells me there's more."

"We found Carter's watch in the Grand Canyon."

"That's a problem." Hill stopped typing.

"There might've been a security breach. The IT department hasn't found the penetration site in our systems."

"Fury isn't going to like this." Maria pushed away from her workstation, "Who are you calling?"

Phil ignored her question as he listened onto his cell phone, "You have reached the personal voicemail box of Tony Stark. Consultation hours are strictly on Thursdays 1PM-5PM." The agent clicked on a few more buttons before he was patched through to JARVIS. "Get me Stark now, I don't care what he's doing."

"Right away, Agent Coulson."

Phil patched his cell phone to the computer. An image of Stark in his lab came through. "You do realize about my consultation hours."

"Never mind about that, Stark. We have a problem. We need your help."

"Whose the 'we'?"

"There was a security breach in our systems. We need to find it."

"You heard the man, JARVIS."

"Running system background check…data archives…Agent Sharon Carter accessed the file one week ago. Missions: Titanium and Chrysalis."

"What the hell are those about?"

"Never mind."

Stark had an annoyed look on his face, "You do realize I have a super computer over here."

"Thank you for your cooperation."

"Phil…you didn't answer my…"

Stark remained at the computer screen, wondering what S.H.I.E.L.D. was up to now. There were still secrets that he couldn't even explain. The only thing he knew that Fury couldn't be trusted still.

"We better tell them on the field," Hill started up her com link, but there was no response to her calls. "Any luck on your end?"

"No."

"If we send in our evacuation teams, their covers will be compromised."

"We can still salvage Titanium." Hill dialed several numbers on her phone but no one answered. A red alert window popped up on her screen, "There's an unauthorized vehicle leaving the base."

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going over to the ranch."

…

The week had been eerily quiet. Steve jogged on a beaten path that he created from his previous runs. He felt the desert sun beat from above him as his white t-shirt was being drenched in his own sweat. His mind replayed the events that lead him to where he was now. Something from Peggy was still amiss when he mentioned about Bucky. He started to research about HYDRA. It started to make sense how everyone was after the so-called cube…it was the source of infinite power, which fell in line with the agencies S.H.I.E.L.D. was fighting against. But then again, the idea of 'trust no one' flashed in his mind. It was lesson that Bucky has passed on to him before leaving.

Steve started to climb over the ridge when he heard gunfire. Immediately he dropped to the ground and arm crawled his way for cover. He gauged the distance to the barn, which was at least 30 yards. It was now or never. Under a barrage of bullets, he made a mad dash to the barn and grabbed his shield. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a suit and took the blue fabric in his hands. Now it was becoming surreal. In seconds, he busted out of the doors and ran to the front of the house, charging at the enemy. The bullets ricocheted off his shield and bounced back towards the two masked men.

"Rogers, what are you doing here?" Peggy was crouched against her desk, reloading her gun. "What is that bloody costume?"

"Never mind about that. I came to get you and Dr. Erskine." Steve gazed up from the hiding spot, "How many are inside here?"

"At least two." She fired into a corner and waited. Her eyes caught a shadow shifting and she fired away.

"There should only be one more." Steve waited for the opportune time, "Can you run?"

"Of course."

The pair ran out in the back but didn't find Dr. Erskine.

"Looking for him," the masked man pulled the scientist alongside him. "We've been looking for you."

"You don't need him, you need me."

"Quite the opposite." He pointed his Glock at them, "He's the mastermind."

Peggy trained her gun on HYDRA's henchman, waiting for the perfect time to kill.

"I wouldn't do that missy." He fired at the pair with the bullet lodging in the dirt. "Next time I won't miss."

"This doesn't need to get ugly," Steve tried to reason with the man.

"Enough talking." He then fired more bullets at Steve and Peggy, in which Steve protected the both of them with his shield.

Dr. Erskine remained quiet for a while, analyzing the situation himself. Everything was done except for one last move on his part. "I won't stand for this." He elbowed the enemy in the groin and knocked him to the ground. The two men wrestled in the dirt, "Run you fools. Get out of here." He clawed at the gun.

"Foolish old man, you can never defeat HYDRA." He pulled the trigger and the scientist collapsed off the side.

Steve watched the events unfold and he ran over to his fallen friend. He threw his shield directly at the gunman, rendering him unconscious. "Can you hear me Dr. Erskine?"

"Call me Abraham." He wheezed, "You need to get out of here."

"I'm taking you with me."

"Stay who you are," he paused to take a breath, "not a perfect soldier, but a good man." He pointed over Steve's heart. "Now go." His hand fell to his side.

"Steve, we have company!" Peggy reloaded her Glock and aimed it at the road. The unmarked sedan raced towards them.

"Get in the car now," Hill appeared at the driver's seat.

Peggy fired one bullet, maiming the last remaining HYDRA soldier. She quickly went over to Steve's side and pulled Dr. Erskine's body into the car.

Hill sped away as fast as she could in case more of HYDRA appeared. "Everyone all right?"

"No," Peggy took Steve's hand, "Dr. Erskine is dead." She turned head to look back at the ranch through the rearview window. Her hand reached into her pocket, and all that was left of her mission was tucked into a flash drive. Her hand then pulled out a smaller device not bigger than a lipstick tube and punched the button on top. Behind them, a fireball erupted in the desert sky.

…

"Mr. Nolan, fancy meeting you here after hours."

"Just performing security sweeps." He eyed Robin carefully.

"I see you're set for the party." She flatted out the collar on his tuxedo. "Can you escort a lady?"

He offered her his arm without hesitation.

Robin wore a sleeveless emerald dress with a red sash tied over her waist. Her jade hair sticks were in place holding her black hair in a tight bun. "You're such a gentleman," she purred. She reached for one of her hair sticks and jabbed it into his neck. "I bet you didn't see that one coming, Hawkeye." Clint dropped to the ground, gasping for air as he became paralyzed. "Bring him over to the cell," she looked over at the Winter Soldier.

Clint finally came to in his cell. The chains clanked above his head. He noticed his right arm was searing in pain. "We found the microchip and decided we couldn't take any more risks."

"Who the fuck are you?"

"That's not a way to speak to a lady." She opened her fans and traced them across his chest. The blades dug into his skin, leaving bloodlines running down his white shirt. "I'm the Black Lotus." She signaled over to the Winter Soldier, "Play nice you two," she dug her fans once more into his chest and watched the blades shred the last remnants of his shirt, "It's time to catch a spider."

* * *

**It's a cliffhanger with part whump! I couldn't find an alias for the Black Lotus, so I made one up. I always liked the name Robin, and Locke came from one of my favorite LOST characters.**

**Thank you to Brandi Golightly, Lollypops101 and The21stquinn for your reviews. Thanks again for the story alerts and faves. **

**Leave a review! It would mean a lot to me. **

**Until next time! **


	8. Chapter 8

**As promised, here is an early update. Thank you for waiting patiently, I've been on the interview trail. **

**Thank you to Brandi Golightly, Lollypops101, and ig-once upon-a-timer for their reviews.**

**Without further ado, here's the next chapter! **

* * *

"What is this place?" Steve saw a row of recruits run by him.

"Remember what I said?" Peggy swiped her identification card before a guard flanked her side. "He's with me."

"Yeah…what about it."

"Well this is part of it."

Agent Hill walked with them, "We received a distress signal from Tokyo. Chrysalis has been compromised." She clicked on her headset, "Get me a quinjet now. We need an evac team immediately."

An agent 's voice came across the earpiece, "The strike teams are all out on the field right now. Coulson took the last team with him."

"What do you mean no one is available?" She rubbed her temple, trying to figure out the best course, "Forget it, just get me a quinjet."

Peggy stood off to the side as she watched several agents wheel Dr. Erskine's body away. It was a long day so far, but she knew she had a long trail of paperwork that can wait. "We can be of some assistance. Put Steve Rogers in the field. He's ready."

Hill looked to him, wondering what the man in the blue suit was capable of. He carried his shield at his side. "Any combat experience?"

"No ma'am, but after today, it counts."

"Come with me." Hill marched through the base and found their way to the hangar. The black quinjet stood off the side with a payload of supplies waiting to be loaded. Agent Stillwell stood by the main hatch with their mission specs. He even had a hologram projected from his tablet.

Steve grabbed the file from him. His gaze fell when he saw several familiar faces. "I know them."

"Stay objective," Peggy warned him. "I'm coming with you."

"Your mission is to extract our agents. There is no recon." Hill manipulated the image on the tablet. "Get in and get out. It's swarming with HYDRA agents."

…

The bar was filled with the usual regulars. Dr. Selvig stared at Thor for the longest time, "You better not be trouble."

"It seems I've already caused trouble," his voice was low. "The life of Donald Blake has changed."

"Indeed." The scientist motioned to the bartender, "S.H.I.E.L.D. has its eyes on us."

"What do you mean?"

"Long story short…they're interested in Jane's work and the hammer you stole from them."

"I didn't steal it. It belongs to me."

"Tell that to the bigwigs." The bartender returned with two large glasses, and Dr. Selvig pushed one over to Thor.

"This is more like it."

"Cheers." Dr. Selvig watched the god down his drink in seconds.

"Anotha!"

The two men drank several more rounds, and Dr. Selvig knew he was on the loosing end of it. The astrophysicist stumbled his way out with Thor following him. They both walked back to the lab with both Jane and Darcy sitting out on the curb.

"What's the meaning of this?"

"They're taking everything."

Thor stormed through the doors as the agents scurried about, taking the electronics and pictures. "You have no authority here." Coulson was in the back, analyzing Mjolnir.

"How were you able to move it?"

"The hammer belongs to me and no one else." He pulled up Mjolnir, "She's made from a dying star."

"Right, big fella." Coulson moved aside, "You're not one of Stark's cronies."

"What did he do?" the former tennis player remembered the name well.

"Nothing yet."

"Return Jane's work."

"I'm just borrowing it."

"Whatever S.H.I.E.L.D. is up to, you have an ally here. All you need is to ask." He swiped the journal from Coulson's hand and walked out with Mjolnir. Sparks ignited from the hammer.

"Everyone clear out, we're done here." Coulson walked out to the front. "Ms. Foster, you can have your lab back." He turned around before stepping into his S.H.I.E.L.D. issued vehicle, "We'll be watching you."

…

Muffled voices came in and out, and the sounds worsened her headache. Her green eyes were barely open but she felt a hand clenched down her throat. The last thing she remembered was fighting off Robin with her bladed fans and activating the distress signal from her bracelet. She never suspected that she was the Black Lotus. She stole a glance until she saw Clint coughing up blood. His chest was littered with linear cuts and bruises.

"Get your hands off of her." The archer pushed himself off the ground.

"Tell me where the cube is."

"I don't have clearance, I'm just a master assassin."

The Winter Soldier carried the Black Widow by her neck and hovered over Hawkeye, kicking him into the ground and stepped into his groin with his heavy boots. A loud scream came from another room and instantly she flashbacked to the Red Room to the days she was tortured. The images woke up from her stupor. She saw the metallic arm, and now her nightmare had turned into reality.

"I can easily snap her neck." He tightened his hold around her as she played possum. Slowly she gasped for air.

"I remember you," Clint leaned his head against the wall.

"Where's the cube?"

"I don't know shit." He got enough energy and rushed into the rogue agent.

"Stupid, fool."

The Black Widow found a small switchblade that HYDRA had missed from her belt, as the hand around her throat tightened. Without warning, she saw through Clint's diversion and plunged the blade into her captor's leg. Immediately, she dropped to the ground and gasped for oxygen.

"Tash!" Clint ran towards her despite every bone in his body protested and picked up his partner from the ground.

"Hey," she weakly smiled. "You're late." She tried to sit up but she felt the cut deep in her back.

The two master assassins watched the Winter Soldier stumble, after yanking the blade out. "You bitch," he muttered.

Clint took a deep breath, "What did you do?"

"I paralyzed him. It's only temporary." She leaned against his shoulder, being mindful of his own injuries.

He caught onto her cue, "I'll live, but won't be having any kids for a while." He leaned against the wall with his back, and yanked out a defective hearing aid. "You might need to speak a little bit louder too."

She looked at the walls and noticed the cameras mounted at the corners. "They'll be here soon. Call it Hawk."

"Anymore fancy tools?"

"No."

"We'll improvise then," he smirked.

"What about him?"

"If he wakes, drop him."

The two rested for a while in their short reprieve. Above them, Loki watched with keen interest at the pair as he found that his short-lived mind control with the Winter Soldier ended. He was no one's fool and when it came down to his business, he would see it completed himself. The general was just another pawn in his game that was easily sacrificed at the moment.

His gaze went to the other cell where the Black Lotus finished interrogating Sharon Carter. The Asian assassin typed at a computer and broke down the firewalls. "We found it." She looked to see that Loki slipped into the room. His eyes honed in on the location. With a small grin, the demi-god disappeared again.

…

Hemidall stood guard in front of the Bifrost. His eyes searched the changing heavens, and a vision of Loki surfaced. The god of mischief was up to something but for now the gatekeeper's gift of foresight was limited by something far sinister.

His gaze returned to Thor, who was still stuck on Midgard. With the awakening of Thor, it started to set things in motion. For all this time, he had looked onto Thor since the plan was hatched to keep him safe. Odin never felt he was right to be king as a young teen and sent him without the memories of an Asgardian, and yet he retained some attributes. As for Loki, his adopted son, he stripped him of his memories until his curious mind found its way to the Tesseract.

The ground quaked below him as a low rumble washed across the city. Soon enough, things will come to pass.

Lady Sif watched from a column in the healing room. The battles have taken a toll on the Warrior's Three, but they remained faithful to the crown. "We need to do something." She pulled back her black hair and tied it into a ponytail. As a child, she had blonde hair until Loki cut it off as cruel prank. "Thor needs our help."

"Would he remember us?" Fandral looked into the fire. The flames were set deep in his eyes.

"Let's find out."

…

"Ready for round two?" She ripped a piece of her dress and dabbed at his wounds. She felt his calloused finger run across the cut on her cheek, "It'll heal," and then glanced over to her back again. Gently, he peeled away the black fabric that clung to her skin.

"It looks bad." He applied some pressure, feeling her flinch forward.

"Like I said it'll heal."

They both heard footsteps and assumed their defensive positions. They both held their breaths and waited. The first soldier appeared with a small caliber gun and aimed it at Clint. The Black Widow dropped to the ground and kicked up at his knees. She then did a back flip, knocking over the second guard in seconds. She landed on the balls of her feet, crouching again. Her eyes focused on the main door.

Clint ran over and stripped the guards of their badges and weapons cache. He watched the hallways in case any more soldiers came through. The clock was ticking and it was only a matter of time before the cavalry came rushing.

The pair ran out and found Sharon in the next room, where she was still strapped to a chair. It was obvious to them that it was a trap to lure them back in. Somewhere, the Black Lotus was waiting.

"Cover my six," the Widow cocked her pistol and dashed forward. Quickly, she shot at the metal braces and plucked the tech analyst. "Stay with me, Carter. Eyes on me."

"It's you," she whispered. "I had to tell them…sorry."

"Don't be. Let's get you home."

"Don't forget about Bucky."

"We have company, Widow." The Hawk fired at the Black Lotus.

"Isn't this a heartwarming reunion?"

The Black Widow handed Carter over to her partner. "It's time to settle the score."

"With pleasure." The Asian mercenary pulled out her bladed fans and spun them.

The two females stood in the opposite corner, sizing each other up. "Green really doesn't suit you," Natasha cocked her gun again. "Then again I don't like to play dress up."

"You're covers were blown from day one thanks to your analyst."

"Leave her out of this." She crouched low to the ground and countered the blows from her.

Robin jumped back and took off her red sash. This time she lassoed the fabric around her former coworker's neck. She boomeranged one of her fans and it dug right back into the initial wound that she inflicted. The redhead bit the bottom of her lip and drew some metallic liquid. Her green eyes flashed in annoyance.

Clint looked on trying to hold back the soldiers that were coming into the cell, "Nat!" He fired a shot that shredded through the red fabric. The Black Lotus threw her fan towards him, angry for his interference.

Natasha did another back flip and aggravated her wound, but she landed back on her feet, picking up her dropped weapon. She fired her gun and the bullet found its way to the Black Lotus's heart.

…

Sharon came to finally, "Where's Bucky? We need to get him out of here."

"We know, sweetheart. The only problem is that he tried killing us." He grabbed any useful weapon and tossed one over to her.

"The evac team should be here soon." The Black Widow gazed out from their vantage point. She fired several shots at the shadows, warding off any one stupid enough to come attack them. "It's not going to be easy."

"Agent Romanoff, do you copy?" Peggy flipped several controls. "ETA 15 minutes."

"Copy. We'll need cover." She clicked on her bracelet. "They're here sooner than I thought."

"What's your play?" The Hawk finished acquiring his weapons cache.

"Light 'em up."

Already they could hear the rapid gunfire come from the rooftops, it was their signal. The trio emerged under heavy fire and ran through the corridors.

"Remind me to stay away from the field for a while," Clint hollered over to his partner, as he fired back. "I wished I had my arrows."

"Shut the fuck up and keep firing."

"You two act like you're married." Carter added her two cents in the conversation. The tech analyst fired back until she saw a red light tracking the walls. It could only mean one person. "Fuck…it's Bucky."

They raced up the stairs and clamored onto the second floor. Bullets whizzed about and there was no way to shake off the Winter Soldier.

"Hit the ground," an unknown voice shouted at them.

There was no time for explanation, but seeing that he was a friendly, it was enough for them to hightail out of there. They raced up another set of stairs and clamored up onto the rooftop.

Sharon froze in her tracks as she saw her sister in the pilot seat. Her stomach sank and she knew she was going to get an earful later. Without knowing, Clint grabbed her waist and shoved her unceremoniously through the open doors. "Let's not hold up production." The next person he hoisted up was his partner. He saw the wound on her back had worsened and gave her a pointed look.

Steve continued to block the Winter Soldier's attack, hoping to give them enough time to get on the quinjet. "It's me Bucky…Rogers." He placed his shield in front of him and countered his friend's bionic arm. The metal on metal screeched against each other, and Steve gritted his teeth, trying to find better leverage.

The Winter Soldier saw the distraction and blasted Steve with his arsenal of weapons, forcing him to fall back. He looked over to the quinjet and fired several times. A look of satisfaction came across his eyes before he was knocked unconscious by Steve's shield that ricocheted off a concrete wall.

"All right, Casanova," Natasha reached out to her partner and felt his hand slacken in her grip. "Clint!" She scrambled to get him on the quinjet, ignoring the pins and needles that went down her leg.

* * *

**Thanks again for reading. Please leave a review! Thank you for the story faves and alerts.**

**Until next time…**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you to Lollypops 101, Brandi Golightly, Guest, and jensmit75 for their reviews.**

**I've been busy with work and studying, but thank you for your patience! **

* * *

Natasha landed on her feet, catching herself on the ledge. She glanced at the parkour course and calculated her next move. She ran against the asphalt block before jumping to grab a hold of a bar. She swung herself across it, ignoring the nagging pain from her back. She somersaulted into a foam pit and then clamored up the wall before grabbing the ledge again. In truth, she needed a distraction from everything. The de-briefing from her latest mission was just icing on the cake to make her second guess her decisions. Her hand reached out for the buzzer and the clock froze. She was still slow in her form. If Clint was there, he would shred five seconds off her time.

"You're going to break the buzzer."

"I'm not," she punched it again to reset the clock. "Who sent you?"

"No one." Steve leaned against the railing, glancing over his shoulder, "How long did you know about all of this?"

"Several years now…thanks to the Red Room." Her green eyes darted to him.

"Right."

"I read your file." She walked up to him and grabbed her water bottle from her duffle bag. "You're the only one that made it."

"The Super Soldier Serum?"

"That's the one."

"None of this makes sense."

"It never will," she adjusted her back strap.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the infirmary?"

"I never listen," she shot him a look.

"When did you ever?" He recalled their high school days.

"Thanks for saving our asses back there."

"You're welcome." He looked across the massive layout, "How's Barton?"

"Besides the chest tube and pain meds, he'll survive." Memories from the quinjet flashed through her mind as she remembered plunging a needle into her partner's chest. It was something she had seen on the field before with Alexei. Strike Team Delta's debut wasn't the best and wasn't the worst, but there was room for improvement. "He'll probably leave AMA soon enough."

Steve let out a chuckle. "Maybe."

"You have no idea." Quickly, she turned on her heels and ran through the course again. She leapt over several concrete barriers and then attacked the rope that was attached to one corner of the room and flipped to the bars.

…

Tony sat in his lab and tried to break into the firewalls that JARVIS had become accustomed to hacking. Everything was starting to fall into place, and his father was right all along. The technology was changing and he needed to be ahead of the game.

"Ms. Potts is arriving, Sir."

Tony pulled the plug on his mini project and looked over to his girlfriend. "My dear Pepper, how can I be of service?"

"Funny Stark." She placed her bag down on the counter, ignoring her boyfriend. "You know you have your second trip planned. The board wants you to present this time and there's going to be a missile demonstration."

"Why do you have to be so serious?"

"I have to be," she stated matter-of-factly. "You're lazy!"

"On the contrary," he tossed several papers into the wastebasket. He saw her turn for a moment, and checked on the progress of his mini project. "What do you think of having a Stark Tower in Manhattan?"

"What?" She dropped her tablet on the counter, "It's your ego talking."

"I guess that's a yes."

"Focus, Tony."

"I am," he swiveled in his chair.

"I have your itinerary."

"You can put it down over there." He pointed to the wastebasket.

Pepper gave him a shortened look of annoyance, "I don't know how your former secretary put up with you."

"You're hired."

"Funny." The strawberry blonde walked away to grab a cup of coffee.

"I really mean it," he called out after her.

She peeked her head around the corner and mumbled several things under her breath.

"You're welcome." Tony resumed back to his work after his banter. An incoming message was on his screen. "Oh Bruce…how have you been? How's India?"

"Cut the crap, Stark." The scientist's web cam cut in and out. "Can't chat too long, but you should see these scans."

"This can't be good." His eyes raised suspicion. "Are you sure about this?"

"I ran the models five times."

Stark was about to say something before the connection was lost. "Pepper? When is my Afghanistan trip?"

"Check your schedule."

...

Fury looked out from his office. The Pacific Ocean now surrounded his massive armada. With Stark's technology, it gave them coverage from prying eyes. He peered at the monitors, watching the prospects of his future team. The process was slow and drawn-out, but with all their imperfections coupled together, the odds weren't in their favor. It was highly improbable that they would pass on their first try. Even with his secret meetings with Howard Stark prior to his death, the physicist had reservations of putting his own son into the mix of highly combustible personalities.

He walked over to his desk and found Coulson's report from New Mexico. It was short and concise to the point. His good eye furrowed in regards to Thor's hammer. The true potential hasn't been realized but judging from eyewitnesses the Asgardian will not disappoint.

"Sir, if I could have a moment?" Hill waited by the door.

"What is it?"

"Here's my report on Steve Rogers. Judging from the preliminary reports, I would recommend him to be team leader."

"Is that so?" He flipped through her scribbles and saw some of Peggy's handwriting as well. "He barely has any military training."

"Agent Carter has been training him."

"What about Agents Barton and Romanoff?" He countered.

"They're expert tacticians and spies." She crossed her arms, "Barton will go off the book, and so will Romanoff."

Fury nodded in agreement. "So be it then. Will need to initiate the next phase. The Council is growing weary, but they'll need to deal with it." He crossed his hands under his chin, "We now have bigger problems."

"Come again? I thought there was only one problem."

"They found a Extremis prototype in Agent Barnes' blood."

"I thought that program was terminated."

"Evidently not," he let out a sigh of frustration. "Secondly, the Tesseract has graced her appearance again. She has the capability of teleportation."

"A mind of it's own?" She walked closer to the image, "I thought she was an energy source.

"One and the same." He typed away on his computer before swiping on the screen and tossed the image to the mainframe, "HYDRA has lost its main leader. From Intel, Loki has cleared a pawn for us, but any leads to Extremis will be cold by now. The clean up crew came and went." A red dot appeared on the screen, showing the location of the blue cube, "We need to stop Loki before hell breaks loose."

"I'll let Coulson know…he's still in New Mexico."

…

Natasha walked through the halls. For the past twenty-four hours, they forced her to rethink her relationship with Clint. She admitted she can be a bitch at times, but that was the purpose to keep people away. Somehow Clint managed to break through her walls and now this happened. She remembered her mentor's voice, "Never fall in love."

She found an empty bench in a hallway and collapsed onto it. Her training sessions were taking a toll on her and every muscle in her body protested against her. She knew how to lie against those tests the doctors administered. She was Russian after all.

Maybe it was too soon to be back on the field. She never dreamt that her life would turn out this way…whatever happened to being a normal teenager and head off to college. That ship had already sailed. Now here she was in her early twenties and still trying to figure things out. The blood was getting thicker on her hands and she didn't need to add Clint's to the ever-growing list in her ledger. She never wanted to let any one down, but now she had to battle her own demons again.

She walked back to the infirmary and stood off the side, stealing glances of Clint through the window's blinds. The archer was half subdued but he managed to lift his head when he caught sight of her red hair. She waited momentarily, wondering how she'll drop the veil on him.

"Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

"You know me by now." She pulled up a chair and took in the solitude. Her eyes grew heavy but she fought off the pestering feeling.

"You're not you."

That was Clint for you, straight to the point and without the bullshit. "I'm fine, just exhausted."

"Talk to me, Tash."

"What is there to talk? You got injured."

"It's part of the job." He tugged at his chest tube and watched his partner tighten her hold on the armrests, "No serious injuries, just scrapes and bruises, and to top it off…a collapsed lung. I just can't dive or jump off a plane."

"I'm fine," she returned to his earlier question. She pulled aside her hair, which revealed an ugly bruise over neck.

"I swear you're bipolar. You need meds."

"I don't." Her green eyes flashed at him and she leaned in, wondering where he was coming from.

He reached out for her hands, capturing them in his calloused grip. There was something else he was picking up on. "I'm okay, Tash."

"I know." She tried to pry away from his grip, "I have to go now."

"No, you don't."

She pulled away from his grip. She felt his stare follow her into the hallway as she left his room.

…

She stared at the ceiling, watching her eyes play tricks on her. In the darkness, imaginary patterns circled above her. The stiff mattress didn't do any justice to her back, but slowly she gave in. And again, the carousel of nightmares began to start. The faces of her former targets mocked as they rode in a circle. Her mind slowly to fall into one hard belief that anyone that comes close to her will die.

She bolted up with her cami drenched in sweat. Her gaze cut across to the alarm clock. The numbers 3:00 mocked at her. Only four hours of sleep. She drew her knees to her chest and rocked herself before coming to the realization that she needed to get away.

As if on cue, her cell phone broke the silence. "This is Agent Romanoff."

"Suit up for your next mission," Fury's voice echoed in the receiver. "Rogers will be your partner, Barton's benched. Details to come."

…

Steve walked through the hangar in the early morning. He was starting to adapt to the military lifestyle that he created back in the desert. He found Peggy sitting in a cockpit with her pre-flight checklist.

"I heard you're going out again," she clicked several switches and checked to see the computer's response.

"Yeah. No rest for the weary." He tucked his hands into his beige pockets. "Thanks for believing in me."

"Don't thank me. You should thank Dr. Erskine," she flashed him a smile and pulled back her hair as she reached across the seat.

"Right." Steve took in the early sunrise. "That's true, I hope he found peace."

"He's probably enjoying some schnapps right now." She finished her checklist and grabbed the tablet before she stumbled out of the cockpit. Her foot caught the hidden ledge that she's always hated. Steve quickly dashed to her side and caught her in his arms before she hit the ground.

She looked into his blue eyes and pulled back. "I never did like that ledge." He let her go and she quickly adjusted her uniform from the wrinkles. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"Be careful out there, Steve." Peggy gathered her things and snuck in a small kiss on his cheek. Quickly, she walked away and saw the Black Widow make her way to the platform.

Steve froze in silence like a deer in the headlight. The infamous Black Widow walked by him with a small smirk forming on the edge of her lips. "Coming Cap?"

He grabbed his duffle bag off the ground and clamored up on the steps. This was going to be one of the longest flights for him.

"Wheels up in five."

"Roger that."

She took control of the console and saw the incoming message from Fury.

"Your next location will be…"

* * *

**And they're off!**

**Is there trouble with Clintasha? Where are Natasha and Steve going? **

**Find out in the next chapter.**

**Please review! Thanks! **


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